How To Take Charge of Your Health As A Christian
Christians have a mixed reputation when it comes to living healthfully. Individuals who are involved in a religious community and…
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How Would You Live If You Knew . . .
Most of us really don’t know. And perhaps that’s a good thing. We don’t know when the next life-altering event…
Change One Small Thing, and Change Your Future
Just yesterday I talked with a young lady who is enjoying reading Live Healthy, Live Whole. She identified with Mary,…
3 Keys to Deal With Stress Better
The research on stress has continued to expand exponentially in the years since Hans Selye first described what he called…
Reasons to Have a Baby for Christians
Some couples assume that having children is just something you do when you get married, and don’t give much thought…
5 Ways a Woman Can Make a Miserable Man
Can’t life with them; can’t live without them. That’s how some men see us women. And perhaps we’ve given them…
30 Things To Be Grateful For
Life is difficult. Bad things happen, and challenges come every day. One of the best ways to meet those challenges…
7 Ways You Can Take Charge of Your Mental Health
We each have our bag of mental challenges to deal with. Some of us have greater emotional vulnerabilities than others.…
7 Ingredients to Rebuilding Trust Between You and Your Spouse
A long-haul truck driver called our radio program. He worried about his wife every time he left home. It wasn’t…
45 Healthier or Uplifting Distractions
It’s been a bad day. You’re frustrated, tired, anxious, and/or upset. Or perhaps you can’t pour over those numbers or…
What’s God’s Job? What’s My Job?
Some things God will do for you. Those are things you cannot do for yourself, and He does them spectacularly.…
Three Kinds of People, and How to Tell Them Apart
People can make or break you. One key relationship may decide whether you experience success or failure, happiness or misery.…
The Enormous Power of “I Don’t Care!”
Next to “No” the most powerful sentence in the English language is “I don’t care.” It makes you downright dangerous!…
7 Things to Do If You’re Sad
Have you ever cried so hard and so long you thought it would never end? Or have you become so…
The ONE Question That Will Help You Make ANY Decision
Whether you tend to become paralyzed over making significant decisions or often act before you have all the information you…
“I Want to Do More in 2015”
The beginning of the New Year is a bittersweet time for many. Looking back, you may regret some things about…
17 Things to say NO to this New Year
There’s no true difference between 11:59 pm tonight and 00:01 tomorrow morning. For some it will be a moment to…
How to Enjoy Sex With Your Husband
Bedroom conflict is at it again. Husband wants sex with wife and she doesn’t want to give it. Wife wants…
10 Healthy Ways To Get More Energy
Tired, anyone? Who isn’t? Many of us are just worn out – in body, mind, and soul. If someone could…
To the Lonely, Disappointed Wife
When you first got married you imagined every day would be wonderful. Someone would be there to do much of…
5 Regrets You Can Completely Prevent
It’s a blessed person indeed who can look back at his or her life without regrets. Very few, if any,…
Getting Over A Bad Attitude
A bad attitude isn’t all in your head. Sometimes it’s very much in your body as well. A bad attitude…
5 Ways To Connect With Your Husband
You wake up one day and realize you don’t feel like a wife at all. You feel more like a…
5 Steps To Getting Out Of A Funk
There’s not a human being alive who doesn’t have a bad day occasionally. And for some people it seems those…
2 Attitudes About People That Will Make You Miserable
In a classic Peanuts cartoon Linus wants to be a doctor. The always negative Lucy says he could never be…
12 Habits To Live Happy and Healthy in Just Minutes A Day
Your daily habits determine your future. Most of what we do each day we do automatically. Imagine how difficult life…
Does Your Husband Have To Earn Your Respect?
You’ve heard that men live on respect. But when do you give respect? Do you wait until he does something…
How To Know If It’s God’s Job Or My Job
“It’s in God’s hands.” Yes, it is. In fact, “He’s got the whole world in His hands!” He’s got the…
7 Things Men Wish Women Knew About Being Sexual
As a woman, you probably know (or at least think you know) that most men want sex. A lot of…
What the Bible Says About Health
I often see honest Christian people who are not at all healthy. Sometimes they become frustrated and discouraged, even wondering…
13 Things On A Bucket List For Christians
Wanting to “kiss at the top of the Empire State Building,” or “learn to play guitar” may be great goals. But if you believe that God has a purpose for your life, there are some other things that should be on your “bucket list” for sure. Here are some things you don’t want to get to the end of your life without having accomplished:
Five Kinds of People Jesus Spent Time With
Jesus didn’t like everybody.
He loved everyone. He still loves everyone. But while He was here on earth, Jesus definitely had favorites. There were people He loved to be around, and people He avoided.
Here are the kinds of people Jesus spent most of His time with:
Free From the Gold, the Girls, and the Glory
With painful regularity yet another preacher gets caught in a scandal. Donated funds have been diverted to personal use. An inappropriate sexual relationship is discovered. The “ministry” has become focused on someone’s personality rather than God’s work.
One more of God’s servants has fallen to the lure of the gold, the girls, or the glory.
24 Things Your Spouse May Be Feeling When They Seem Upset With You
Your husband is giving you the silent treatment. You immediately think he’s angry with you, and you want to call him on it. You feel yourself getting angry in return. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
Your wife is irritable and distracted, and hasn’t taken care of what you asked her to do today. You’re frustrated, and want to lash out at her. “Why can’t you take care of something so simple?”
What To Do When Your Husband Wants Sex and You Don’t
I’m going to assume for a moment that you have a genuinely good man for a husband, not perfect, but one who truly wants to be good to you. You recognize that sex together as husband and wife is important to him, and you’d like to handle it better. Here are some things you can do.
Can God Heal You From Mental Illness?
Of course God can heal you from mental illness!
But the real-life answer is often much more complicated, more painful, more excruciating.
When it comes to mental illness, like with most other problems we humans face, God’s answer is almost always, “All of the above.”
10 Things God Has Put You In Charge Of
Try to take charge of what is in God’s hands, and you will become frustrated and anxious. Neglect to take charge of things God has placed in YOUR hands, and you will become depressed.
I’ve gotten confused over the difference many times, and perhaps you have too. Understanding the difference can change everything about your happiness, peace, and success in this world, and more.
10 Excuses That Won’t Work With God
God is as eager to bless you, heal you, give you good things, or fulfill a big purpose in your life as a father or mother is to give good things to their children. (Matthew 7:11) Most of what He wants for you is bigger and more eternal than you could imagine for yourself.
But too often we humans are so short-sighted, selfish, or afraid that we don’t take advantage of what God offers. It’s like a child afraid to get onto a bicycle or jump into a swimming pool. The joy of swimming or riding a bike is waiting for you, but it takes being willing to risk, and trusting that your parent (God) will be there.
10 Reasons You Should Smile More
Smiles are contagious!
That’s only one reason to be conscious of how often you smile. Smiling is good for your body, mind, and soul. It’s good for the people around you. And it can demonstrate an inner hope and peace that speaks of God’s work in your heart.
So, here are some specific reasons you should consciously make an effort to smile more often.
8 Things To Do When You’re Tired
If you’re tired because you are behind on your sleep, that may be the very best thing to do.
But not so fast. Sometimes sleep may work against you.
Often it’s not a medical problem that’s causing fatigue. There are many lifestyle factors in our modern world that just wear you out!
So what can you do when you’re tired?
Wealth or Poverty Is A State of Mind
Wealth, generosity, and poverty are not concepts primarily defined by your bank account, adjusted gross income, or zip code.
Wealth, generosity, and poverty are defined by your state of mind.
Are you a giver or a taker? That question is the best way to determine your state of mind when it comes to wealth or poverty.
2 Questions to Help You Decide If Your Marriage Is Too Destructive To Save
If you’re wrestling with a painful or destructive marriage, you know all too well the frustration, tears, and loneliness involved. You know the feelings of powerlessness, shame, sadness, disappointment, or guilt. You may have prayed, cried, and done all you know, and are only left with weariness and hopelessness.
There are two things I know for sure:
The Second Thing to Learn In Marriage
EVERY couple will face conflict. The question is not IF you will face conflict, but rather HOW you manage conflicts when they arise. Handling conflict in marriage is a learned skill: no one knows how to do it automatically, but anyone can get better at it.
Don’t be surprised when you and your spouse see things differently: after all, if you were both the same, one of you would be unnecessary! What’s important is what you do then.
Here are five important steps to learn:
Why You Don’t Have to Fear the Future
The analogy I like the best is comparing a new year to a newborn baby.
I frequently get to be the one who helps a new baby enter the world. From time to time I wonder what kind of life that newborn baby will grow up to have.
7 Things to Give Away This Year
This is the time when many look forward to the coming year, planning how to make things better than last year.
But there’s one other area of life where I would like you to plan as well. Plan to give away what you have!
The vast majority of us are far more likely to hold back than to give too much away.
10 Things to Leave Behind in 2014
A new year provides a wonderful opportunity to leave behind things that aren’t working.
At least briefly review your physical lifestyle, money habits, thoughts and emotions, use of time, personal relationships, and spiritual practices. Ask a few important questions about each area, and it’s likely you will find things that you can do without in 2014.
5 Ways to Get Through the Holiday Season Happier and Healthier
Too much food. Too much stress. Too much spending. Too much drinking. Too much unhappy family time. No wonder many people start the new year heavier, unhappy, and in more debt.
There’s no holiday magic that gives you a free pass on what it takes to be healthy physically or mentally. The principles of healthy living apply during the next six weeks just as they do the rest of the year. It’s not too late to plan some better strategies.
MEMO: Getting Past Your Past
Have you ever felt really stuck? It feels like something big has its claws in your brain and you just can’t move. No matter how hard you try you can’t get rid of the baggage that is weighing you down and holding you back.
We all come with a past. Some of our baggage is stuff others have done to us. Some of our baggage is stuff we have done to ourselves.
But how do you get past all that? Here’s how:
How to Find the Freedom of Forgiveness
You’ve been wronged. Badly.
There comes a time after every such horrible wrong where you must make a decision. And it’s yours alone to make. You have only two choices. Do you remain hurt and miserable, or do the hard work of forgiveness.
Forgiveness sets you free. It does much more for the one doing the forgiving than the one needing to be forgiven.
Forgiveness is also one of the hardest things for most people to do. There’s a sweet misery in nursing your wounds. Having been hurt is a wonderful excuse for all kinds of bad behavior.
Why It Matters Who Is In Charge Of Your Life
“Who’s in charge around here?” That’s a very good question. For any endeavor to succeed, someone must take responsibility.
If your life is a project, or an expedition, or a book, who’s in charge? If you are playing a part in some great drama, who’s directing? It makes a difference.
There are three basic choices when it comes to who’s in charge:
